On air, CNN correspondent Sara Murray said there was a sign-up sheet for media prior to gaggle — which is non-standard.

President Donald Trump and chief strategist Steve Bannon have ratcheted up their criticism of the media in recent weeks.

Trump wrote on Twitter, “the FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!” ahead of his comments at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

Reports from the White House suggested other organizations who were admitted to the meeting boycotted in protest.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer informed reporters Friday’s briefing was meant for pool reports only — a smaller group of reporters who would relay information to other outlets. Spicer said he would expand the group “as he saw fit,” according to reports.